It’s official: Rep. Elise Stefanik is planning to run to unseat current leftist New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2026.

She is preparing to launch her gubernatorial campaign soon.

Check out what’s being reported:

BREAKING: Rep. Elise Stefanik officially prepares to launch her NEW YORK GOVERNOR campaign, per The Hill.

She wants to defeat Kathy Hochul. pic.twitter.com/KFwuD41LSq

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 26, 2025

Rumors had been swirling that Rep. Stefanik — who is about as MAGA as it gets — was considering to run for New York Governor.

It is unclear exactly when her campaign will launch.

Full scoop from The Hill:

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is preparing to officially launch her campaign for New York governor, according to two sources familiar with her thinking.

“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” said one of the sources, adding that Stefanik will announce “at the time and place” of her choosing.

Speculation has been swirling for months over whether Stefanik, a close ally of President Trump, would seek the top executive office in the Empire State.

Polling shows her leading a hypothetical Republican primary. A poll conducted by GrayHouse found that Stefanik has a commanding lead over fellow Rep. Mike Lawler (D-N.Y.), who is considering a run, 44 percent to 7 percent among GOP primary voters. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman secured 5 percent support. The margin of error is 5 percentage points.

Reportedly, Rep. Stefanik has already raised millions of dollars for her campaign to defeat Hochul.

Per City and State New York:

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik is planning to launch a campaign for governor, and though there is no timeline yet for an announcement, a source familiar with her thinking said that “millions and millions of dollars” in donations from Republicans and Democrats have been pledged to her eventual campaign in the wake of Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary.

Rep. Stefanik is Gov. Hochul’s worst nightmare.

Just today, Rep. Stefanik slammed Gov. Hochul as “the worst governor in America” after Kathy criticized her for cutting Medicaid:

Hi @KathyHochul ! Welcome to the fight.

You didn’t get exposed enough during our last round when you testified and were totally exposed for your dangerous and failed sanctuary state policies ??

Let’s do Medicaid now.

Kathy Hochul, the Worst Governor in America oversees the… https://t.co/RV2WgaznpC

— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) June 27, 2025

Full text:

Hi @KathyHochul! Welcome to the fight.

You didn’t get exposed enough during our last round when you testified and were totally exposed for your dangerous and failed sanctuary state policies ??

Let’s do Medicaid now.

Kathy Hochul, the Worst Governor in America oversees the worst run Medicaid program in the country harming NYers.

Medicaid is an incredibly important program that I have worked to strengthen for New Yorkers.

Kathy gives Medicaid to ILLEGALS putting New Yorkers most vulnerable LAST. NY’s Medicaid program is rampant with tens of billions of waste, fraud, and abuse under Kathy’s watch.

Oh and Kathy, your numbers in rural NY are plummeting (just like they are everywhere else). I have been nationally recognized as the TOP advocate to deliver results for rural hospitals due to my work for hospitals in my district. #NY21

PS – Tag me next time.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.

View the original article here.